The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday re-arraigned former Managing Director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank PLC, Erastus Akingbola in a Federal High Court in Lagos, for alleged money laundering. He is facing an amended 22 count charge and he had pleaded not guilty to the charges on his re-arraignment, and after his plea was taken, the trial continued.
The prosecution opened its case and its second witness, Abdulraheem Jimoh is still been led in evidence. When the case was called on Wednesday, the prosecutor Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) informed the court of an amended charge filed by prosecution. He urged the court to accept the charge and cause the plea of the defendant to be taken afresh.
The prosecution witness, Jimoh, told Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, how the defendant diverted funds from the bank and bought some property in London for £9.7 million. A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Acting Spokesperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Tony Orilade, said the prosecution had on Tuesday, March 12, 2019 opened the trial of the former bank chief.At the resumed hearing, Jimoh, a former Chief Inspector with the defunct Intercontinental Bank, told the court how he unravelled fraudulent transactions by Akingbola.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the witness said: “I was given a letter by the management of the bank, which came from Tropics Securities Limited, a company owned by Dr. Erastus Akingbola, his wife and some other shareholders.
In the charge, he was alleged to have between November 2007 and July 2008, while being the MD of Intercontinental Bank, caused to be created a misleading appearance of active trading in the shares of the bank in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). He was alleged to have been connected with the utilization of an aggregate sum of N179.4 billion of the bank’s fund, for the purchase of the bank’s shares, thereby inflating the rate of the bank’s shares on the NSE.
In the charge, the defendant was also accused of converting an aggregate sum of 1.3 million dollars and 8.5 million dollars, which sum was taken from the bank’s GBP NOSTRO account at Deutsche Bank in London. The sum was said to have been remitted into the account of Fuglers Solicitors with the Royal Bank of Scotland in London, to purchase property in the name of Life Boat Settlement Trust, set up by the defendant.
According to the prosecution, the defendant knew that the sums represented proceeds of crime which includes stealing. The offences contravene the provisions of sections 105(1) and 105(a), of the Investment and Securities Act, 2007. It also contravenes the provisions of sections 13 (1), 15(1)(a), and 28(3) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Cap B3, Laws of the Federation 2004. The offence also contravene the provisions of sections 14(1) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2004.
